Winter is here and it’s Time to cut down on that Electricity Bill

In earlier year’s swimming pools in residential homes were few and far between, however today nearly every second home has a swimming pool that is used for leisure and entertainment. A swimming pool is great to have, but can turn out to be very costly. Taking into account the chemicals, filtration system and most expensive of all the energy use. So if we can find a way to reduce the energy use of your swimming pool, this will result in large monthly cash savings.

1. Maintain proper water circulation

Water circulation is an important part in a pool system as it maintains the good quality of pool water. The water circulation is affected by the following:

The running time of the pool pump

The state of the filtration system

The state of the skimmer box and basket

During the summer months make sure that your pool pump runs for at least 8 hours per day to allow for proper circulation of the pool chemicals keeping the water clean.

Ensure that you clean your pool filter every second week, whether it is a cartridge or sand filter. Also make sure your skimmer box and basket is free of debris as this will result in the pool pump running normally. The pool pump will work more efficiently if kept cleaned which contributes to energy saving on a daily basis.

2. Keep the pool clean

This is all about pool maintenance which takes time, a commodity which most of us have very little to spare these days. However if you keep your pool clean you will save on pool chemicals as a clean pool uses less chemicals than a dirty one. In keeping your pool clean you will also affect its energy efficiency as clean water flows better and results in less strain on the pool equipment. If in your busy schedule you fail to keep up with the maintenance programme and miss a cleaning session, this can result in running the filtration system twice as long as normal to clean the water. There is a solution for this problem and that is making use of an automatic timer which is able to manage the operation of the pump and allow for more energy saving.

3. The pool pump

Having the right pump for your pool is vital in your attempt to save energy as your pool pump, apart from the geyser, is the second appliance in your home that uses the largest amount of electricity. It can use up to as much as 11% of your monthly Eskom electricity bill. Firstly ensure your pump works for 6 to 8 hours per day in the summer and 4 to 6 hours per day in the winter months, it is also advisable to let your pump run at night which will result in further cost savings. Another option is to consider using a smaller pool pump, e.g. a 0.75 horse power or smaller pump has been proved to be more than adequate the average home owner, and can result to as much as 75% saving of the running cost of the pump.

4. Water evaporation

In order to reduce evaporation it is necessary to use a pool cover, not only in the cold winter months when the pool is not in use, but also during the warm summer months when no one is swimming. Heat loss is the cause of 75% of your water evaporation, and in order to reduce this figure even more it is recommended that you make use of a solar pool cover which reduces heat loss and thereby reducing water evaporation. The solar pool cover serves as a barrier between the air and your pool water and keeps the heat of the water constant which means you use less electricity in keep your water warm. The use of a pool cover is not only used for water evaporation but helps to keep leaves and debris from falling into the pool, and in so doing reduces the energy required to keep your pool clean as the filtering time is drastically reduced. A pool cover is also an excellent way of keeping a lot of dirt out of your pool as well as preventing water evaporation. Go Green Guys are one of the most reliable manufacturers of pool covers in Cape Town.

5. Windbreaks.

If you live in an area that is very windy then it could be important to install a windbreak. Wind that blows constantly over your pool will result in unnecessary evaporation of the water. A windbreak can be in the form of a screen or fence, but nothing beats the natural windbreak of densely populated scrubs.

6. Pool pump timer

We are all aware that the function of the pool pump is to keep the water circulating while trying to keep the energy used to do this to a minimum. When a pool pump timer is installed, it is set to run at just the right time in order to get the water properly circulating and then to switch off. If this is done, and is operating correctly, the energy saving can be of great benefit and the pool owner will save on costs. A timer can also also be used effectively if you a pool heating sytem installed. Pool heating Cape Town is quite common to allow pool owners to take advantage of their swimming pools during the cold winter months.

At Sandton Mag we are always trying to provide our readers and subscribers with information that can be put to good use. I really hope that this article has benefited the readers of Sandton Mag